WBN investigated whether Deontay Wilder got knocked out by an opponent before losing to Tyson Fury officially for the first time in 2020.
Ex-heavyweight champion Wilder took a rumored KO versus Harold Sconiers well, according to his long-time trainer and manager Jay Deas.
Did Deontay Wilder get knocked out by Harold Sconiers?
In a story WBN has extensively covered over the years, talk always fills the internet that Wilder should have had an early loss on his record.
According to eye-witnesses at Fantasy Springs Casino, Wilder was “down longer than ten seconds” and “saved by the bell” versus the unknown Sconiers in 2010.
There is no evidence of the video, only broken links to the old footage from Golden Boy ‘yfrog.com’ accounts that are now closed.
But apparently, Wilder may have been defeated ten years before Fury without the aide of a generous referee.
WBN asked Fantasy Springs directly if they had any clips of Wilder vs Sconiers. All they could provide was digital photos.
Therefore, the allegations will persist until proven otherwise.
When previously asked, Deas had no problem discussing the knockdown but made no mention of any possible controversy.
Jay Deas explanation
Deas told Tha Boxing Voice when prompted about the fight: “Harold Sconiers, who didn’t have a great record but had just knocked out Andre Purlette.
“He was forty wins and three losses in the fight before Deontay, so we knew he was a live guy.
“Deontay knocked him down two or three times and moved in for the kill. Sconiers threw a punch. It landed kind of on the back of Deontay’s head. But it still counted.
“Deontay took it well, got up, and stopped it in the next round. So it can happen to anybody.
“It’s just one of those things in boxing. Behind the head, but hey, it’s boxing. What are you going to do, complain?
“You got to get back up. You got to do the job,” he added.
Deontay Wilder speaks
Those words by Deas align with Wilder’s statement in an interview just after the event.
“Early in my career, I got dropped,” Wilder told The Opening Kickoff on WNSP-FM 105.5. “I got a rabbit punch in the back of the neck.
“When the punch happened instantly, my neck started to swell. There was a knot back there. It was a blackout-type of feeling.
“By the time I got back up, the ref was in my face. I was like, “what’s going on?'”
No mention of any possible chance of defeat, but why would there be?
The best way to clear things up would be to dig out the footage and let fans decide for themselves.
Until then, those wondering ‘what if’ may continue for longer than it should. It’s already been twelve years.
If anyone has a video of Wilder vs Sconiers, please get in touch with WBN at contact@worldboxingnews.net.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay.
WBN Editor Phil Jay has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews, Instagram, and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
